Category Archives: General Tea Background

Tea Reading List – A Few of Our Favorite Books

We’ve been posting regularly for a couple years now and from time to time we pull quotes from some of our favorite tea books. However, it struck us recently that we haven’t pulled together a list of our favorites to share in one spot. So this post is just that, a short-list of some of our current favorite tea books. We know it will change over time but hopefully this list can be a starting point for anyone looking to increase their knowledge of tea.

One page from the original The Classic of Tea by Lu Yu

The Classic of Tea

The oldest book on our list, by far, The Classic of Tea was written by Lu Yu around 760 CE. Origininally from Hubei Province in China, Lu Yu’s book is considered the earliest book written on the subject of tea and was originally written in Chinese. Translations are around with our copy being produced in 1974 and having spent time in a public library in Illinois before being sold off and ultimately ending up in our hands. The easiest of all books on our list, The Classic of Tea has three major parts covering an introduction to tea and how its made, the equipment used to prepare tea, and a final section on brewing, drinking, and other odds and ends related to tea.

Tea Blending as a Fine Art

More of a how-to guide for the aspiring tea merchant of the 19th century, Tea Blending as a Fine Art was written in 1896 by Robert M. Walsh. As its written from the perspective of selling tea, this book covers some basics of tea before spending time on tea adulteration and what to watch out for, the importance of finding a blend that works well in the local market, and ideas for advertising in America during the 1890’s. It also includes recipes for tea blends (no tisanes or non-tea ingredients here).

All the Tea in China

Written in 1990 by Kit Chow and Ione, All the Tea in China provides a little bit of everything though, as the name implies, much of the content of the book focuses on China. You will find a bit of history of tea in this book including its early origins, how colonial trade brought it to the west. The book even touches on tea’s role in the opium trade and tea in the US colonies. At less than 200 pages this is an easy read with a great overview of everything tea from the plant through an overview of production, and overviews of some famous Chinese teas.

Notable People in the History of Tea

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Lu Yu – In Xi’an on the grounds of the Great Wild Goose Pagoda
Nat Krause
July 26, 2005, CC – 2.0

The history of tea is intertwined with religion, commerce, early notions of wellness and more. Understanding where tea has come from requires looking at the notable people who influenced the production and consumption this fine drink across the globe. Given that tea has been around for a few thousand years, there are many people to consider, from religious scholars, to corporate spies, and even accidental inventors. There are really too many, in fact, for one blog post so we’ve selected a few of our favorites to touch on briefly.

Lu Yu

As the man credited with documenting the production and consumption of tea in China, his work, The Classic of Tea, still has meaningful insights into ancient production of tea. Born in Hubei, in central China, Lu Yu lived between 733 and 804 C.E. This book gives a view into the Chinese practices around tea and its status as one of the seven necessities in life. The poems and quotes in the book are still relevant today, about 1200 years later!

Eisai

This buddist monk, also known as Eisai Zenji (or Zen Master Eisai) is credited with bringing tea seeds to Japan and planting them near Kyoto, creating the first tea farm in Japan. He is also credited with writing the first book about tea consumption in Japan during his lifetime from 1141 to 1215 C.E. His writings on tea are credited with spreading tea culture throughout Japan and setting the stage for the Japanese tea ceremony.

Robert Fortune – An early example of corporate espionage.

Robert Fortune

As the botanist for the British East India Company, he is credited with stealing seeds and tea plants from China that where then taken to India to plant. While these initially failed, Fortune (1812 – 1880 C.E.) helped to identify the native camilia seninsis var. assamica, which is considered the backbone of Indian tea. He helped the British East India Company break the monopoly that China had on tea.

Arthur Campbell

Living from 1805 to 1874, Arthur Campbell planted camilia seninsis var. seninsis seeds in the Darjeeling region of India. Without him, the British East India Company would not have expanded tea production into Darjeeling and we would be missing a seriously good tea (see Darjeeling – The Champagne of Tea).

Thomas Sullivan

The story goes that in the early 1900’s Thomas Sullivan started sending tea samples to customers in small bags. Not knowing that this was simply meant as a convenient way to ship the tea, his customers dropped the entire bag in water, soon after complaining that the silk was too fine all the while demanding more tea bags from Mr. Sullivan. He was not the first to create it, but just make it a commercially viable design that was widely adopted. The first to patent the tea bag in the U.S where Roberta C. Watson and Mary Molaren. They were unable to turn their patent into a commercial business, but their design looks pretty similar to the modern day version minus the string to pull it out of the water.

There are so many people that have contributed to the history of tea through thousands of years and this is just a small sampling. Do you have a favorite?

Darjeeling – The Champagne of Tea

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Darjeeling is often called the champagne of teas.

New Year’s is associated with Champagne, but for tea drinkers this also means its time for Darjeeling, the champagne of tea. (Photo by flicker user Bill Masson – https://www.flickr.com/photos/maxblogbits/ ).

A New Year is traditionally toasted with champagne, for tea drinkers that means bringing out Darjeeling, the champagne of teas. Darjeeling tea got this nickname because of the complex fruit and floral aromas this tea is known for and the limit quantities that are available due to the shorter growing season and high demand. A traditional Darjeeling tea is a black tea, however, the tea leaves are also used to make white and oolong Darjeelings, which are rare outside of West Bengal.

Darjeeling Terroir

The Darjeeling region borders Nepal in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains and carries of perfect terroir of high altitude, moderate to cool climate, and rain. Darjeeling tea is from Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis, not from Cameliia Sinensis Assamica, which is thought of as the traditional Indian tea cultivar. The high altitudes are what allow the Chinese varietal to thrive in India.

On top of being in a distinct region, the Tea Board of India requires registration and monitoring of tea estates in Darjeeling in order to enforce the Geographic Protection given to the region in 2011. Knowing the name of the estate that grew and manufactured the Darjeeling is critical in knowing that the Darjeeling you are drinking is authentic. It is estimated that there are 30,000 more pounds of Darjeeling on the market annually than is produced in the region. This has dropped dramatically, but counterfeit Darjeeling has not been fully eliminated.

Growing Season

Darjeeling tea is picked in March to April during the first picking, or first flush. This occurs during the spring rains. The second flush is typically picked in June. There can be a picking during the monsoons from late June through the fall, but generally these are less flavorful teas and are often only sold locally and are blended into masala chai in the West Bengal region. A fall plucking of tea can also occur, but again not quite as flavorful as the 1^st and 2^nd flush.

Darjeeling Flavors

Second Flush Darjeeling from Makaibari Estate, West Bengal, India

Makaibari Estate Second Flush Darjeeling

First flush Darjeelings are typically lighter, more floral but will carry a lighter version of the stone fruit flavor than is expected of a second flush. The leaves may appear lighter as these are the first picking and are often not allowed to oxidize as far as a second flush tea.

Second flush Darjeelings are what gave this tea its comparison to champagne. This is a complex tea from a flavor standpoint with a mix of stone fruits from apricot and peach to plum. Some people use the term muscatel, which is a reference to muscatel grapes. This is best described as sweet, fruity, and possibly caramel like in flavor.

The beautiful complex flavor of Darjeeling tea is worth getting to know in the New Year and makes a perfect tea to start the new year with.

The Best Way to Experience Tea: By Flight

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Cupping teas in flight for comparison is a fun way to explore new flavors.

Tea flights are a great way to explore new teas.

What’s the best way to enjoy a cup of tea? Finding the best way to drink a cup of tea is truly a personal experience. No two people are going to agree on every aspect of which tea, which cup or pot, time of day, whether it is shared with others or enjoyed quietly with a good book or a beautiful view of nature. In developing Dominion Tea and most recently in opening our first retail space, David and I had to grapple with answering that question while allowing for the education of new and experienced tea drinkers alike. We borrowed the idea of a flight of tea from the local Virginia wineries, who offer flights of their wines when you visit them.

How Many Teas in a Flight?

In designing flights, we have opted for three teas. Why three? Well, even though these flights are not full cups of tea but just two ounces of each, there is only so much tasting and distinguishing a person can really do with tea, or wine for that matter, before the flavors blend together. It also helps to minimize the wait time for people as the tea steeps. Some days five minutes feels like an eternity when you really want that cup of tea. Also, by trying more than one there is an opportunity to practice real consciousness when tasting and comparing teas together. Don’t forget there is a lot to tasting that we humans have managed to take for granted.

Get To Know Your Tea

Tea flights also give us an opportunity to educate people about the places these teas come from and the care given to them from the farmers and manufacturers of the tea. As we all know, good tea requires just the right terroir, handling during plucking and manufacturing and proper storage to make it as good as possible. There are a lot of people out there who have no idea where tea comes from and how to make a proper cup of tea, so we seek to make use of this opportunity to help educate those who come into the tasting room.

I will also admit that it is fun to think up all the possible combinations of tea. So while it might be a little unorthodox to think of drinking teas in flight, we hope this new experience excites our fellow tea drinkers while recruiting new ones. Do you have any thoughts on the perfect pairing of three teas you would like to share?

Visit our Purcellville Tasting Room

Are you in the Northern Virginia area? We are located in Western Loudoun County in the heart of Northern Virginia Wine Country. Stop by and visit before heading off on your wine country excursion. Our Purcellville Tasting Room is located at 148 N. 21^st St, Purcellville, VA 20132.

Five Tips to Help You Savor Tea

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Experiencing tea involves all of the five senses.

Neural Pathways in the Brain Delivering the Full Tea Experience – by NICHD/P. Basser (CC BY 2.0)

When David and I started to really build Dominion Tea, we sampled a lot of different teas with experienced and inexperienced tea drinkers alike and found out how little we knew about what it means to adequately describe the experience of drinking one tea versus another. Taste is so much more than just the five senses that our tongue gets (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami). It also includes touch, smell, and sight. To say that you taste something ignores that fact that it really does require all five senses to register what is in your mouth. To savor tea acknowledges that it requires more than taste to truly enjoy a cup.

It is a testament to the complexity of the human body that all five senses can so quickly execute when we consume beverages or food that it often leaves us lost for words about what we just experienced. To help me figure out how to better describe tea, I went hunting through books on food, brain neurology and what scientists have learned about our mouths. Below are five tips on how to better understand what you are experiencing with your next cup of tea. These take time, patience and practice, but are well worth it.

Play when you drink the tea. Smell the tea before you put it in your mouth and try to describe the smell. Then slurp the tea when you drink it. Yes, slurp. It allows the aroma to travel up the back of your mouth into your nose again. Smell is actually what gives you the complexities of what you taste, not your tongue. Then try to describe what you just drank. How is your second description different from the first? Then sip the same tea while you pinch your nose closed and you will realize what you are missing when your sense of smell is taken out of the process.
Drink with others. No two people have the same tasting experience. Our genetics effect how strongly we taste bitter, salty and sour. There is no wrong way to describe what you taste but having someone else around to compare your experience with helps you get better in finding the right words for what you are experiencing.
Swish the tea around in your mouth. After you have had fun slurping, try swishing. As you swish the tea around in your mouth, what do you feel? Does your tongue feel dry around the sides or does the tea feel creamy down the middle of your tongue?
Know your biases around taste. Our experiences with food are written back into our brains, so if you associate a smell or taste with something bad, even unconsciously, it will affect your future experience. The same holds true for good experiences. Knowing your biases helps to guide you on what to try and may also help you explain why something doesn’t work for you.
Practice describing the what, how, where and when around the cup of tea. What refers to the five tastes. How refers to the intensity of the taste – low, medium or high. Where refers to where in your mouth you taste the tea and when refers usually to the start, middle or end (finish). Practice being precise as possible with these as that will ultimately help you understand what types of teas are pleasing. Often a tea can be pleasing not for its smell or taste but for how it feels in your mouth (think smooth).

Practice these five tips and you will become better on describing your tea experience and learn to appreciate the flavor of more than just your favorite cup of tea.